Do I ship it?

GamesIncrementalIncremental + Word Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Word Game Incremental game?

Incremental + Word Game

Of 91 developers who shipped a Word Game Incremental game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 77 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 1 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×10 the market's $120 for a 1 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $240. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 77 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 77 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Incremental + Word Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 91
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.8k → $1.1k → $748 → $1.4k → $1.2k → $1.6k → $599 (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Incremental + Word Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 91
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,197)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,815)
Top 5% $107k (exactly $106,693)
Developers, 2 yr 91
Released games 234
Announced 77
Effort 1 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 15% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
Word Game
effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
1 / 10 · text and UI only
Systems
Incremental, Word Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Visual Novel, Simulation
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Text-Based, Emotional
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 9,978 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $4.8k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 77 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Incremental with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds15 devs · median $11k · 12 announced
  2. + OtomeStrong odds12 devs · median $7.0k · 11 announced
  3. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $6.1k · 15 announced
  4. + FarmingFair21 devs · median $5.9k · 23 announced
  5. + Dynamic NarrationFair19 devs · median $4.0k · 14 announced
  6. + MiningFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  7. + Souls-likeFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  8. + Arena ShooterFair15 devs · median $3.5k · 20 announced
  9. + Dating SimFair140 devs · median $3.1k · 136 announced
  10. + UndergroundFair27 devs · median $3.0k · 35 announced
  11. + LootFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  12. + SupernaturalFair33 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced

All 188 pairs on the Incremental page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator $12.99 5,191 92% 156k $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) Aluba Van+
Immortal Family older $13.99 1,213 54% 36k $509k (exactly $509,096) 一起来修仙工作室
xiuzhen idle $5.99 2,313 79% 69k $416k (exactly $415,646) 游戏养家工作室
Paper Bride 3 Unresolved Love older $9.99 874 92% 26k $262k (exactly $261,938) HeartBeat Plus
~Be a maid in the Demon World~ The Secret Café of the Demon Angel Hero. older $18.99 320 74% 9.6k $182k (exactly $182,304) Kokutou Umeboshi
Paper Bride 5 Two Lifetimes older $9.99 606 84% 18k $182k (exactly $181,618) HeartBeat Plus
Paper Bride 4 Bound Love older $9.99 547 77% 16k $164k (exactly $163,936) HeartBeat Plus
Only You $6.99 719 94% 22k $151k (exactly $150,774) 忘雪社
Paper Bride 6 Nightmare $9.99 369 81% 11k $111k (exactly $110,589) HeartBeat Plus
MEMOLOGY: GOYDA older $1.99 1,847 94% 55k $110k (exactly $110,266) hannibalnotdead, Gamesforfarm
The Eastern Sacrifice $9.99 356 55% 11k $107k (exactly $106,693) 五条虾仁(5 shrimps)
UncleOffice:uncle Dating Simulator $15.99 92 61% 2.8k $44k (exactly $44,132) GameUncle
Idle Land of Exile $4.99 239 68% 7.2k $36k (exactly $35,778) 所以然
Whisper of Y'Ryando $7.99 89 70% 2.7k $21k (exactly $21,333) IndieCain, YuetXD
翎之歌 $6.99 83 89% 2.5k $17k (exactly $17,405) YuKi制作组, 崩溃猛犸
MEMOLOGY 2: OLD TIMES $0.99 527 95% 16k $16k (exactly $15,652) hannibalnotdead, Gamesforfarm

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.